V stared at the credit chip, then swept it into her pocket. She reached under the counter and pulled out a heavy, lead-lined case. She popped the latches. Inside, resting on a bed of cooling gel, was a chest plate. It wasn't the gleaming silver of the Vanguard. It was a matte, shifting grey material that seemed to absorb the dim light of the shop—the "War Shop" exclusive.
Kael glanced left, then right. The authorities—the Server Admins—didn't look kindly on trade involving "legacy hardware." But at Level 104, Kael had hit the Glass Ceiling. His standard-issue Vanguard armor, the set he’d worn since Level 20, had reached its stat cap. He couldn't tank another hit from the World Bosses in the Deep Net zones without an upgrade that simply didn’t exist in the legal catalogs. ntr knight v104 war shop